Nick Ashford, one-half of the legendary Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson that penned elegant, soulful classics for Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye has died at the age of 69 from throat cancer.

Ashford and his wife Valerie Simpson wrote Motown classics Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and Reach Out And Touch Somebody’s Hand (recorded by Ross and You’re All I Need To Get By (made famous by Gaye and Tammi Terrell) and they also wrote pop hits such as I’m Every Woman”, which was a hit for Chaka Khan and, later, Whitney Houston.
They also had success writing for themselves: Perhaps the biggest known hit sung by them was the 1980s hit Solid As A Rock.

R.I.P. Nick Asford one of the greatest songwriters in the music business.